Toph's Mistake
by Leaving-My-Mark
Summary: Toph gets ill, but she refuses to tell anyone. However, one day it gets so bad that she can't hide it anymore, and Katara is the first to notice. However, it'll take more than Katara's healing to help Toph get better. Takes place during Season 2. R&R!
1. A Bush Full of Berries

**Toph's Mistake**

**Chapter 1:**

**A Bush Full Of Berries**

**This is my first attempt at a non-one-shot fan fiction for Avatar. Sorry it has such a stupid title. If you have any better ideas, I'm open to them!**

**Summary: Toph gets ill, but she refuses to tell anyone. However, one day it gets so bad that she can't hide it anymore, and Katara is the first to notice. However, it'll take more than Katara's healing to help Toph get better. This takes place during the second season.**

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Aang, Sakka, Katara, and Toph were walking through the woods on a warm, sunny day. As they walked, they passed by tall trees and low trees, bushes with green leaves, and bushes with small berries and fruits on them. All of them looked from bushel to bushel that was full of exotic fruits that they were so eager to pick and eat. They were looking for an Earth Kingdom village to visit and find something to eat, however they had not found any luck so far.

"Why can't we eat those berries again?" Asked Sakka as they passed another bush full of red little berries.

"Because, we don't know if they're poisonous or not. We can't risk our chances." Katara said as they kept on walking.

"Well if we don't ear something soon, we're going to starve. I'd rather risk it." Toph said.

"I don't think that's a smart idea. If one of us tries it and gets sick or worse, then what?" Katara asked.

"Can't you heal?" Toph questioned.

"Yes…but--" Katara was interrupted by Toph.

"Well then I don't see a problem with eating them." Toph said, and she headed over towards one of the bushes.

"Toph, I think Katara is right. You should listen to her. We shouldn't eat strange fruits we find on bushes." Aang interjected.

Toph paused, and turned around. "Look. If they don't taste right, then I'll spit them out, and there'll be no harm done." Toph insisted.

"I still don't think it's a good idea." Said Aang nervously.

"Toph, don't!" Katara yelled.

"I'm sure she'll be fine." Sakka said. "If she's not, then its like Toph said. You can heal her, and then she'll be fine, and she'll know not to eat the berries again." He reasoned.

"That's not the point." Katara said. But Toph had already reached the bush, picked off a small handful, and stuffed a few berries in her mouth. "Toph, no!" Katara cried out. But Toph didn't listen.

"These are some good berries!" She said, and then stuck a couple more berries into her mouth. "They don't taste like poison. Besides, wouldn't I have known by now if they were harmful?"

"It doesn't always work that way. They might not taste like it, but then you get sick." Katara said.

"You're too paranoid, Katara. I don't see anything wrong with them." Toph insisted once more. She popped the last few berries into her mouth. "It's so good to have something finally in my stomach!" She said happily.

"I want some of those berries!" Sakka said. He walked over to the bush, next to Toph, and reached towards the glistening red berries. But Katara pulled him back.

"No. I'm not letting you risk it too." She said sternly as she pulled him away from the bush. "Come on Toph, no more of those berries. We're moving on." Katara said as she pulled on the back of Toph's clothes and pulled her away from the bush as well.

"Katara's right. We need to get moving. The faster we walk, the sooner we find a village." Aang said.

"Not necessarily. It all depends on--"

"Shut up, Sakka." Katara said bitterly.

Sakka stared at his sister a little taken aback, but he listened to her. He didn't speak again.

"I think Sakka's right." Toph said. "It would make sense…"

"Toph, just drop it." Aang said calmly and politely.

Toph sighed. "Fine." Truth was, she didn't feel like talking much anymore. She was feeling slightly tired now. It was probably from walking so much.

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The sun was now setting, and the group stopped at a clearing to make camp for the night.

Toph created her own rock tent, and sat down while the rest of the group worked on creating a fire, and setting up the rest of camp.

"Toph, could you help us out a little?" Katara asked as she approached Toph's shelter.

Toph shook her head.

"Toph, if you're going to be a part of this group, then you need to help us set up camp." Katara said.

Toph sighed. "But you guys seem to be handling it pretty well."

"But we could use some help. It would help us out a lot." Katara persisted.

Toph shook her head once more. "I'm not helping. You'll be fine without my help, I'm sure." She said.

"It's ok, Katara. We've got it all taken care of." Aang said as he took off Appa's saddle, overhearing the girls' conversation.

"Are you sure, Aang? I mean, Toph should be helping. Not just sitting around." Katara said. "Don't you find that the least bit rude?"

Aang thought about it a moment, then shook his head. "It's all right. Let Toph do what she wants. We've all had a long day. She's probably just tired."

"Well so are we. That doesn't mean that she should get to rest while we do all the work." Katara insisted.

"It's fine, Katara." Aang said. "Besides, we're pretty much done, anyway. Right Sakka?" Aang asked, looking back at Sakka, who was standing near the fire.

"What? Oh, um, sure." It was obvious that he hadn't been paying attention.

Aang turned back to Katara with a smile. "See? Everything's fine."

"If you say so…" She said unsurely. But she got up, and walked away from Toph.

"Thank goodness." Toph said quietly to herself.

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That night, Toph had trouble sleeping. She tossed and turned in her small rocky tent, and she was sweating. She was restless, and she tensed up at moments. As soon as she seemed to fall into a peaceful sleep, she heard the others outside get up and stretch. Toph felt the approaching vibrations of Katara coming towards her. Toph sat up slowly, and wiped the beads of sweat off of her forehead right as Katara knocked on the sheet of rock that covered the opening to Toph's earthly shelter.

"Toph?"

"I'm up." Toph groaned. She waved her hands in a fierce motion, and the slab of rock flew back down into the ground. Toph crawled out of her rock tent, as Katara backed out of the way.

"How did you sleep?" She asked.

"Fine." Toph lied.

"You don't look like you had a good sleep. Is everything ok?" Katara asked.

"Yea. Everything's perfectly fine. Now will you leave me alone?" Toph said irritably.

"I was just concerned about you Toph. You don't have to snap at me." Katara said before walking off to go help Aang and Sakka reload everything up.

The only reason why they weren't flying on Appa was because they were afraid someone might see them. So they stuck to staying on the ground and walking to the closest city.

Toph walked towards where the others were, and helped them load up and get ready to start walking again.

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**Let me know what you think by leaving a review! If I get at least 3, then I'll continue and post up a new chapter as soon as I can.**

**Tres**


	2. Under The Weather

**Toph's Mistake**

**Chapter 2:**

**Under The Weather**

**Wow. I didn't expect to get so many reviews that quickly! Thank you to everyone who left those awesome, kind, and motivating reviews! Thank you so much everyone, because that means a lot! Keep up the great reviewing!**

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They were all now back on the trail they were on the day before. They passed more berry bushes, but Toph didn't go anywhere near them this time.

After a while of walking, Toph's head began to throb. She hoped it would go away soon, but she didn't expect it to. Today just wasn't her day. _Maybe eating those berries was a bad idea. Maybe Katara was right._ Toph thought to herself.

"I hope we reach a village soon." Toph said.

"Well at least you've eaten!" Sokka pointed out.

"True…" She wanted to add onto to that sentence. She wanted to say that she was tired, and twice as hungry as she was yesterday, even though she'd eaten those berries, and that her head hurt. But she wouldn't let the group know that she was weak. That would make them stop, and delay the trip further. And she just wouldn't admit she'd made a mistake and she was feeling sick.

"We're all hungry. But I'm sure we'll find a village soon enough." Katara assured them.

"Yea, I mean, we can't be that far from one, right?" Aang said.

"Who knows? I just want something decent to eat." Sokka said. He heard his stomach rumble again. "I wish Katara would have let me eaten those berries yesterday." He said. "At least I would have had something in my stomach to hold me over."

"The berries weren't all that great, actually." Toph told him. She was now feeling the side affects from the berries.

"But yesterday you said that they were tasted delicious!" Sokka nearly shouted.

"Yea, you did." Aang said with a nod of agreement with Sokka.

Toph shrugged. "I lied to make you all jealous." She lied. She managed to put on a fake smile.

"You are one cruel person." Sokka said in a low tone.

"Why thank you Sokka." She managed to say in her usual tone, and not in a very sickly way. It was a good thing that her voice did not match her health, or else everyone would know there was definitely something wrong.

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It was now mid-day. And still, there were no signs of civilization.

"How big could these woods get?" Toph moaned. They had decided to take a break for a little bit. Toph sat on a stump, and the others sat on the soft grass. Toph had her elbow propped up on her knee, and her chin resting on her hand. She looked bored out of her mind, as well as slightly paler than usual, and tired.

"I don't know." Sokka said with a shrug. "I'm wondering the same thing."

"I'm sure we'll be out soon enough." Said Aang positively.

"How do you remain so positive?" Sokka asked rather bewildered.

"I guess it's just in my nature." Aang replied with a casual shrug and a smug grin.

"Is there something wrong with being positive, Sokka?" Katara asked as she looked over at her brother.

"Not really. It just gets a little annoying after a while." Sokka said.

"Sorry. I'm just trying to help cheer everyone up. You know, give them a little hope." Aang said.

"There's nothing wrong with that, Aang. I think it's sweet." Katara said with a smile.

"Really?" Aang gave a small bush. "Thanks."

Katara didn't seem to notice Aang's cheeks brighten for a moment. "No problem, Aang." She said simply.

"Toph, you seem a little quiet." Aang said a moment later.

"Huh?" Toph had been trying to sneak in a few extra moments of sleep. It didn't seem to be working. She shook her head a small bit and looked up at Aang.

"He said that he thought he seemed a bit…quieter than usual." Katara repeated for him.

"Nah, just a little tired. All that walking…" Toph trailed off.

"You don't normally tire that easily though. Are you sure nothing's wrong? You're usually complaining that we don't move quick enough, but here you are, sitting on a tree stump and looking like your about to fall asleep." Katara pointed out.

Toph simply shrugged in response.

"Well, we better get moving again." Katara said, changing the subject.

"Katara's right. Let's go." Aang said as he got up off the soft, green grass.

Sokka and Katara followed the motion. But Sokka and Aang walked ahead of the group, while Katara waited a moment for Toph.

Toph got up, and followed after Sokka and Aang. Katara was right behind her.

_Something's wrong._ Katara thought as she watched Toph walk behind Aang and Sokka. _Something's not right. She's not acting the way she normally does._ Katara thought to herself once more. However she couldn't place her finger on what it was exactly. But she wanted to find out soon. If this was something that could affect the whole group, then it needed to be identified and corrected immediately. They couldn't waste any more valuable time.

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**Yet again, thanks for all the great reviews everyone!! Please continue sending reviews! I love getting them, and respond to every single one!**

**Thank you!!**

**Tres**

**P.S. I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I get at least 3 more reviews.**


	3. Stop The Bison!

**Toph's Mistake**

**Chapter 3:**

**Stop The Bison!**

**Thank you for the FANTASTIC reviews everyone!!! They're making me so happy and really want to continue writing!**

**Keep up the great work!**

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As they continued walking, Katara paid close attention to Toph. She was slouched over as she walked more than usual, and she coughed rather violently on a few occasions. This couldn't be good. Katara knew Toph had to be sick, but with what? And had it been the berries?

"How many days have we been walking through these woods now?" Toph asked.

"3 days." Aang replied.

"How big can these woods get?" Toph groaned.

"You asked that yesterday, too." Aang recalled.

"And I still haven't gotten an answer." She practically mumbled, more to herself than anyone else.

"I have an idea. I'll fly on my glider up above the trees, and look at how far the woods stretch out to. If it still looks like a lot of woods, then we can get on Appa and fly the rest of the way." Aang suggested.

"But Aang—be careful." Katara said.

"I will. I just want to help everyone get out of here as quickly as possible. We can't survive out here for much longer." He said.

"All right, go ahead." Katara replied.

Aang nodded, held his glider up in front of him, and tapped it on the ground. The wings of the glider popped out. He tossed it into the air, got a running start, and jumped onto it, and flew up above the trees.

Surveying the acres ahead, Aang noticed that there was still at least 2 more days of walking to do. So seeing this, he flew back down, made the glider fold back up, and put it by his side once more.

"Well?" Sokka asked, in hopes that they would be able to stop walking and get to fly on Appa.

"Its another 2 days of walking at least. I think I saw a small town up ahead after the woods ended, though." Aang reported.

"2 days? So are we going to take Appa?" Toph asked, who, like Sokka, had high hopes that they would be able to fly on Appa. She usually didn't like to ride on the flying bison, but since she was feeling so sick and tired, she didn't care.

"I think that would be the best idea." Aang said.

"All right, but we should be careful. Zuko and Azula are out looking for us now." Katara said nervously.

"Katara you worry too much." Sokka said.

Katara ignored her brother, saying nothing.

"Appa!" Aang called his flying bison over to them, and then he flew through the air and up onto Appa.

Katara, Sokka, and Toph climbed onto Appa afterwards, Toph, not Sokka for a change, having the most trouble. However, Katara was the only one who noticed Toph's struggle. She held out her hand to help Toph up, and Toph, for once, took it, showing this as a sign that she was becoming more vulnerable. Usually, she wouldn't take help that was offered to her, she'd insist that she could do it herself.

As Katara grabbed Toph's hand, she found that Toph's hand was clammy and cold, and pale. She tried to pretend not to notice this, and she pulled Toph up and onto Appa.

As soon as they were all situated on Appa, Aang said "yip-yip." and they took off through the trees and above them. And Katara and Sokka now saw what Aang had seen. It was a long walk from there to the village that was off in the distance. It was a good thing they had Appa.

The wind blew on Toph's face, making her feel cold. She shivered, and sunk down into the saddle, trying to avoid the strike of the wind, but it didn't work very well.

"Toph, are you cold?" Katara asked, now sitting next to Toph. Now was probably the best time for her to talk to Toph. Aang was busy steering, and Sokka was talking to Aang about how hungry he was, and about one of the times back in the Southern water tribe when he had managed to hunt and find something to eat.

Toph shrugged. "A little." She admitted. But she was far colder than a bit, and Katara could tell, seeing as Toph's teeth were chattering.

"I think I have a blanket if you need one." She offered.

Toph shook her head. "I'm fine, Katara."

"You don't look it."

"I'm telling you, I'm fine!" Toph insisted, raising her voice a little, but giving a small cough.

"If you could see yourself, you wouldn't think so." Katara paused. "Toph, I know you're sick. You've been coughing, your cold and pale, you're tired…do I need anymore proof?"

"So what if I am sick? It's not like I'm extremely sick. Just mildly." Toph said. She was still the same stubborn Toph despite the fact that she was sick.

"Toph, that's not the point. If you don't get proper care, it'll only get worse." Katara insisted.

"I'll be perfectly fine, Katara." Toph said.

"I knew you shouldn't have eaten those berries!"

"How do you know they were the berries, huh?" Toph asked. Her voice was a bit weaker this time.

"Because you haven't eaten anything else. There's no other possible explanation to how you got sick. It was the berries." Katara concluded.

"Well even if it was, it doesn't mean that I'm going to get extremely sick from it." Toph said.

"Toph, if you haven't realized, your sweating now, too. And badly." Katara said, now glancing at Toph's pale forehead now covered with droplets of sweat.

Toph raised her hand, touched her forehead, and then brought her hand back down. "You're right." And before she could say something else, the headache she had had all day but had been hiding had suddenly increased, and she put a hand to the side of her head. "Ok, I admit it Katara, I'm sick. And I'm not feeling too well." Suddenly she felt very queasy.

"Toph, do you want to stop flying? I'll tell Aang." Katara asked.

Toph silently nodded.

"Aang, stop flying." Katara said suddenly yet loudly. In the background, Toph put her hands to her ears. Katara's loud voice was making her head hurt worse.

"What? Why? We're almost there." Aang asked, turning his head to face Katara. Sokka turned too.

"What's the problem now?" He groaned.

"Just do it!" Katara commanded. She looked back at Toph. Now, Toph not only felt queasy, she looked it too. "Now!" Katara said.

"All right! All right!" Aang said, and he pulled on the reins, and Appa started to fly lower, and back through the trees. They landed back on the ground, and Katara helped Toph get up and onto the ground. Toph ran behind a bush, and everyone grimaced at the sound of Toph behind the bush.

Toph emerged after whipping her face. She felt better now, at least. "Sorry." She said quietly.

"Toph, are you sick?" Sokka asked.

"No, she just decided to throw up in a bush." Katara said, for once making a decent sarcastic comment.

Sokka gave his sister a stern face.

"Well of course she's sick, Sokka! Look at her!" Katara started to shout.

"Stop yelling!" Toph managed to shout.

"Sorry." Both of them said in unison.

"Well why don't we get back on Appa, and we'll get to that village in no time. Maybe you're just sick because you need something to eat." Aang suggested.

"No, it isn't hunger, Aang." Katara interjected. "It was the berries she ate the other day."

"Really?" Aang asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Really?" Sokka asked with an expression that looked similar to Aang's.

"Yes. Now lets get back on Appa and head to that village. We need to find somewhere we can stay until Toph gets better." Katara said.

Everyone nodded, except for Toph, who was leaning against a tree to support herself. So with Aang and Katara's help, Toph got on, and so did everyone else. Appa took off once more, and they headed towards the village.

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**STOP! REVIEW!! DON'T CLOSE THE WINDOW!!**

**Thanks everyone, new chapter will be up after, once more, 3 posts.**

**Tres**


	4. Stopping By The Village On A Hectic Day

**Toph's Mistake**

**Chapter 4:**

**Stopping In the Village On A Hectic Day**

**Once more, thank you to everyone who reviewed! And for those who didn't, shame on you! Please review this time?**

**I'm sorry for not updating for a while. I was really busy with school and everything.**

**And I bet you're going to find this more annoying than funny, but I added an old minor character in here for fun!**

**Also, you're going to notice there's some Tokka hints, and a few Kataang as well.**

**

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**Appa landed at the edge of the woods, close by to the village. Once again, Toph was helped off, and then they walked into town. Some people looked at them, others did not seem to notice them. Most of them were too busy with other stuff such as trying to get people walking around to buy their products. Over to the right hand corner was an old man holding a cabbage. Next to him was a wagon of cabbages. He was calling out to people on the street to come buy his fresh cabbages. But then he spotted the group walking along the road. It was Aang whom he recognized the most. He pointed at him, and screeched in an ear-breaking tone "You! You're the miscreant that kept on destroying my cabbages!" 

Aang looked up and saw the old man, and his eyes widened when he realized the man was pointing and shouting at him. "I said I was sorry!" He yelled back.

"Come on Aang, let's just hurry past him and go try and find somewhere to find shelter." Katara suggested. Aang nodded, and they walked away from the cabbage man as he continued to yell loudly at Aang for wrecking his cabbage stand so many times in the past.

"Will you get over it all ready?" Sokka shouted back to the man sharply. He then turned around, and followed the rest of the group.

**

* * *

**They walked down a few roads, turning at least twice, when they found a smaller, quieter, and less crowded part of town. They looked around, hoping to find some sort of Inn or something, and to their luck, there one was, right up ahead. "Here's one! The MooseLion Inn" **(A/N: Hey, give a girl a break. So I'm not the best at naming an Inn! Don't kill me over it!)** Katara said, pointing at the building. It had a thatched green roof, just like any Earth Kingdom village house or building. It was a wide building, and it had to be at least 2 or 3 stories high. The group walked towards the Inn, and then walked in. 

There was a woman in a simple light green kimono sitting at a desk, and she looked up at them and smiled when she saw them enter. "Hello there! Have you come to rent a room?" She asked.

Katara nodded, walking up to the desk. Aang and Sokka stood behind her with Toph a few feet away. "Yes, we'd like a room to stay in until our friend here gets better." Katara said, pointing briefly back at Toph, who looked paler than before.

The woman looked over at Toph, then at Katara. "What's wrong with your friend? Is she sick?"

"Yes. And we need to a room to stay in so we can help her recover." Katara informed the woman once more.

"Well, we don't have many visitors. It seems that room 12 is open, you may take that one. It's up on the second floor, and the first door to your right." The woman said.

"Thank you." Katara said. She got out some money to pay the woman with, but she shook her head.

"It's all right. You do not need to pay. Go. Help your friend heal." She said.

Katara nodded, putting the money away, though she didn't feel quite right not paying, even if the woman had said that she didn't need to. She walked back over to the group. "Follow me." Sokka and Aang nodded, and they all helped Toph along and up the stairs, and to the second floor. "Here it is." Katara said. She opened the door, and let the others inside, and then she closed the door.

"Who wants to go into the market with me and get some water, food, and some medicine?" Katara asked.

"I will." Aang said, his hand shooting up in the air.

"All right. Sokka, you stay here and help Toph get settled while Aang and I go get the provisions." Katara instructed.

Sokka looked slightly unhappy, but nodded. "Just hurry back. I'm not good with the sick."

"Great, now I'm stuck with—" Toph coughed, then continued, "—Snoozles, here."

"Hey, I'm not that bad to have around." Sokka said defensively.

"Hey you two, be nice." Katara told them.

"She started it!" Sokka said, pointing to Toph.

"Oh, sure, blame it on the sick, blind girl." Toph said sarcastically.

Sokka rolled his eyes, but decided it best if he didn't reply.

"Come on, Aang. Let's get going." Katara told him.

Aang nodded, and the two turned around, holding the satchel of money, and walked out the door, closing it behind them.

Sokka knew what to do next. "Uh, where's a bed… there's one!" Sokka said, now spotting one in the room over to the left. He helped Toph into the room, and helped her lay down. "Well, there's nothing to really eat or drink, but I'm pretty sure there's some glasses in the kitchen and a faucet to get some water. Do you want me to go get you some?" He asked.

He sounded more sincere than usual. It was a bit strange. It was annoying Toph, making her seem once more, incapable of helping herself, but also making her feel comfortable, cause it showed that Sokka cared. Of course, she knew she couldn't take care of herself, because she was feeling so out of it. "Yea, Sokka." She said with a small nod. She heard him get up, and walk out of the room. The sound of glass clattering, then of running water came shortly afterwards. A minute or two later, Sokka returned with a glass of water. Toph sat up, and held out her hands to receive the cup of water.

Sokka walked back over, and handed Toph the cup of water. He watched her slowly lift it towards her lips, and then tilt it back and take a long sip from it. Then she held it back out for him to take. Sokka took it from her, and set the cup down on the floor beside the bed, but in a spot where he was sure he would remember it, but where he wouldn't knock into it. "So, how are you feeling?" He asked as he sat down at the end of the bed.

"I've felt better." She said. "But the water helped."

Sokka gave a small smile, even though he knew she couldn't see it. "Glad to hear it." He replied. He noticed that for once, Toph seemed to be courteous, instead of spiteful towards him. Sokka wasn't sure whether he liked this side of Toph or not.

"I think I'm going to sleep for a bit. Wake me up when Katara and Aang are back." Toph said.

"Yea, no problem, Toph." Sokka replied.

Toph rolled to her side, and closed her eyes, and after a few minutes, she fell asleep.

* * *

Aang and Katara walked around the market for a while. Aang was carrying two baskets; one of fruit, and one of vegetables. Katara was holding one with some meat for Sokka in it and also a jug of juice. Now they were on their way to an Apothecary to find some medicine for Toph.

Katara looked at Aang, "Do you think Sokka and Toph are okay back there? I know they don't always get along well." She said worriedly.

"I'm sure they're fine, Katara. Toph doesn't seem well enough to put up too much of a fight with Sokka. And Sokka, well, he only fights back when Toph starts to cause him trouble. I'm sure they're fine." Aang replied calmly.

"Toph seems really ill. I don't think it's a regular sickness. I think those berries she ate were poisonous." Katara said, looking even sicker with worry.

"Katara, even if those berries were poisonous, I'm sure Toph'll be fine. She's really strong, and she's got an excellent healer to help her out, plus me and Sokka. She'll heal in no time." Aang said with a small smile.

"You think so?" Katara asked. Her face lightened up.

"No, I know so." Aang replied.

Katara smiled. "Yea, you're right, Aang."

"Hey, Katara, look over there!" Aang said, nodding his head in the direction of a small building with a swinging sign over it that said 'Granny Wong's Medicine House'.

Katara's face lit up. "We found it!"

"Come on, let's go!" Aang said. He started to quicken his pace, but he quickly slowed back down to a walk when one of the baskets of food almost toppled over, and he almost lost his balance. Aang turned scarlet. Why did he always happen to do something stupid or foolish in front of Katara? "Oops, maybe I shouldn't run with these."

Katara giggled at this. "Yea, probably not. We wouldn't want it falling onto the ground." She pointed out.

"Nope, we wouldn't want that." Aang said, shaking his head. His blush quickly disappeared afterwards.

They stepped into the medicine house, and immediately a woman came over to meet them. She had a kind, smiling face, and she looked to be about 21 or 22 years old. "Hello, I am Mei-Lee; I am Granny Wong's granddaughter. May I assist you with anything?"

"We're looking for some medicine for our sick friend." Aang said.

"Do you have any idea what they may be suffering from?" Mei-Lee asked.

"We think it may have been something she ate. See, we were traveling, and came across these bushes with berries on them. Our friend had a couple handfuls of the berries and a little while later she started feeling really sick." Katara explained.

Mei-Lee frowned. "If she ate the berries I think she did, then Granny Wong must see her immediately."

Katara and Aang shared the same worried expressions, but Aang spoke up first. "Is it something bad?"

"It's not too serious, is it?" Katara asked.

She looked at Aang, and Aang looked over at her, but he wasn't sure what to do to try and help reassure her or calm her down. He was just as nervous as Katara was.

"Granny Wong is a very well experienced medicine woman. She will be able to help your friend, but this illness is not easy to cure. Come with me, she's in the back room tending to someone's injuries." Mei-Lee gestured towards an area behind the counter, where a thick, draping curtain hung, separating the two areas of the apothecary. Aang and Katara nodded, and followed Mei-Lee into the back room.

"Granny Wong, these two travelers seek your help. It is urgent." Mei-Lee told her grandmother.

The woman looked up. She had short silvery-grey hair that went to her shoulders, with a light green hair clip. Her eyes were a faded, but still a deep green, and had a feeling of wisdom to them. Her skin was tan, and wrinkly, but you could tell that she must have been an attractive young girl. When she looked up, however, she kept her hands firmly on the arm of the man sitting on a chair in front of her. Obviously, she was in the middle of bandaging his arm. "Oh. What seems to be the problem?" Granny Wong asked.

"They say that their friend ate some of the red berries in the bushes outside of the village, and now she's sick." Mei-Lee said.

"Oh, dear. That's not good. But, I must help this young fellow here, first. It'll only take a couple minutes." Granny Wong promised.

"Thank you." Katara responded gratefully.

As Granny Wong went back to work, Aang looked at the man. He was part of the earth kingdom, and he was most likely an Earth bender. But what had happened to this strong man, who looked so weak, and who had been injured. Aang looked from the man, to Granny Wong. "What happened?"

"To this young man?" Granny Wong asked turning around to face Aang.

Aang nodded.

Granny Wong turned to the young man. "Would you like to explain, or shall I?"

"I-I think I will." He replied. He looked over at Aang and Katara. "It was early morning. I was guarding the entrance to the village. No one had caused me any trouble earlier, until three women came. They were from the Fire Nation, and they didn't look like they were up to anything good. One of them walked up to me, and asked me to let them into the village. And, seeing that they were from the Fire Nation, I denied them entrance. And that's when it got bad. The woman told her two friends to attack me, and they did. One had these really sharp blades that she threw at me. It cut me in the arm, which is why Granny Wong is wrapping it. The other one came up to me, and I tried to use my Earth bending to stop her, but she dodged every single shot, and then she just—she just tapped me in several areas, and my whole body went numb, and I was unable to bend. And—and then everything went dark. The next thing I knew, I woke up back here, in Granny Wong's." The man finished.

Aang and Katara gasped, and looked at each other, wide eyed. "It's those girl's from Omashu!" Katara said.

"But how could they have possible found us?" Aang asked.

"Maybe they saw Appa." Katara suggested.

"How could they have seen Appa? We were barely flying on him…" Aang said, trailing off.

"It doesn't matter, though. We need to get back to Sokka and Toph." Katara said.

"But we need Granny Wong's help to cure Toph, we can't leave." Aang insisted.

"What's wrong?" Mei-Lee asked, looking at the two of them.

"Our friends, back at the inn, they're in trouble." Aang told Mei-Lee quickly.

"But if you want to cure your friend, then you must stay!"

"I know, but if we don't go back to them now, there won't be anyone to help cure!" Aang replied. "I'm sorry, but we've got to leave." He told them. "We'll be back. Thank you for your kindness." Aang turned to Katara. "Let's get going, quick."

* * *

Sokka still sat at the end of Toph's bed, watching her sleep, and sitting nearby incase she woke up and needed something. Suddenly he heard a loud bang downstairs, then a yell.

**"**_**They're up in room 12! They're up in room 12! But I think—"** _It was the voice of the inn keeper. She sounded panicked, and pressured. Someone was in the Inn, and it wasn't anyone good.

**"**_**We don't need anything else."** _Replied a cold, harsh female voice. The voice was familiar. Where had he heard that name before? He thought a few moments, then remembered. Omashu. It was the Fire Nation girl from Omashu. And if she was there, then the other two girls must be as well. Sokka looked back at Toph. Amazingly, she was still asleep.

Sokka looked back towards the door, and he heard footsteps, ascending the stairs. He panicked, and then looked once more at Toph. He had to wake her up and get her out of there. He put a hand on Toph's shoulder, and shook her. "Toph, wake up!" He cried.

"What is it Sokka?" Toph replied sleepily. "Are Aang and Katara back already?"

"No, we need to leave. Now." Sokka said.

"I don't want to." Toph moaned.

"We have to, we're in danger." Sokka insisted.

"But I'm tired, and I'm sick... leave me alone Sokka! Let me go back to sleep, no more jokes." Toph argued.

"You leave me no choice, sorry Toph." Sokka scooped her up, and then darted for the door. He opened it up, and ran out. _Now what?_ He thought to himself. Sokka looked around. The Fire Nation girls were still ascending the stairs, and they were getting closer. And that's when he noticed that there was an alternate exit out of the building. He ran down the hallway, and down the steps, kicking open the door. Sokka reached the exit door just as he heard the Fire Nation women reach the top of the steps, and burst open the door to the Inn room.

**

* * *

Please review, and I'll update! Once again, I greatly apologize for the delay in the posting of this chapter, but I'll try and get the new one up sooner.**

**Thanks everyone!**

**Tres**


	5. The Showdown

**Toph's Mistake**

**Chapter 5:**

**The Showdown**

**Wow! Look at all the reviews! Thank you everyone!**

_**Lady Blade WarAngel-**_** It's good to know my work is appreciated, and I'm very glad that you liked it. I hope you like this new chapter as much as you did the last one.**

_**Summer Sweetheart-**_**lol. Well, as they say, "what goes around comes around." And I thank you for that compliment! I'm glad you like the story!**

_**Aevium-**_**Oh good! You had me worried for a second there…heh heh. It's a good thing you found it and decided to continue reading! I am very glad it sparked your interest! And I'm very glad to know that you love this story! And, yes, I can guarantee at least that there will be Tokka hinting, not sure if I'll actually put it in there, if you know what I mean. Tokka is one of my fav shippings as well. Aww, and thank you for the wonderful compliment, it really keeps me going! By the way, interesting pen name!**

_**Pink Pagoda-**_**Oh, you'll find out! The suspense is killing you, isn't it? I'm sorry, that gosh darn suspense…it's such a harsh little fella', and I can never manage to hold him back far enough away from the plot door. Aww, I'm glad you like it! Oh, another Tokka fan! Aren't I lucky I decided to add it in! HELLO FELLOW TOKKA FAN! waves Well, I hope you like the update!**

_**avatarfan225-**_**Thanks for reviewing! I'm happy to know you enjoyed the last chapter, I hope you will like this one just as much!**

_**Nerf-or-Nothing-**_**You love it? You really do? That's fan-TASTIC! Thanks so much for the review, and I hope you still love it after this chapter as well.**

**Once more, thank you to my WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL reviewers!!! And to those who read but didn't review, SHAME ON YOU! Please review this time? I know you're out there hiding behind the screen! I watch my number of hits like a saber-toothed moose lioness watches her cub!**

**Well, here's the next chapter, ENJOY!!!!**

* * *

Azula and her gang burst open the door to the small Inn room, and scouted the area. Seeing no one in sight, they began to search the room.

Mai looked over to Azula as she stood in the doorway to the bedroom after glancing at the unmade bed. "They were here, I know that."

"But where'd they go?" Ty Lee wondered aloud.

"They ran, of course." Azula said. She carefully scanned the room, but all she found was the glass of water sitting on the floor next to the end of the bed. "Obviously they hadn't gotten settled in yet. A couple of them must have gone to get supplies; which means they'll be back soon." Azula said with a devilish smile.

* * *

"Come on, Katara, hurry!" Aang called from in front of Katara. He was at least two feet in front of her, but seeing as he was an Airbender, he could run faster than any normal 12 year old could, and most people.

"I'm running—as fast as I can!" Katara panted, trying her best to keep up with Aang.

"We're almost there, Katara." Aang said. It seemed like this was the easiest thing in the world for him, he could speak with ease as he turned to talk to her while running.

"I know. I just hope we're not too late."

* * *

"Mai, look out the window over there. Tell me if you see any of them approaching." Azula commanded.

Mai silently drifted over towards the window, and leaned down to get a good look. She looked carefully, and first thought she saw nothing. But then she looked closer, and noticed that the Avatar and the Waterbending girl were quickly approaching the Inn. She turned around to face Azula. "They're almost here."

"Perfect." Azula said, giving another rather terrifying, evil grin.

* * *

The two reached the door to the Inn, and rushed inside, to find the lobby a complete disheveled mess. A few items were thrown about, a chair or two were broken and splintered, and on the desk that had snapped in the middle was the sweet-natured Inn keeper, who was now unconscious.

"Those girls—that's—that's horrible—why would they do that?" Katara asked looking mortified at the scene.

"I know. It really is. But the reason they did this is because they're ruthless, and they're cruel, and they'd do anything possible to track me down and capture me." Aang said, feeling guilty about the event that had taken place down here.

"Aang, you can't blame yourself. It's not your fault. You didn't choose to be the Avatar; you didn't want to be chased by three cold-hearted Fire Nation girls…" Katara started.

"I know. But I can't help but feel guilty. All this happened because I was here." Aang insisted.

"Aang, no. It's not your fault. Like you said, those girls are ruthless and cruel. Now let's get up to the room. I really hope Sokka and Toph aren't up there." She said. Katara grabbed Aang's hand, and pulled him up the steps, but not before taking one last glance at the unconscious Inn keeper.

* * *

"3…2…1…"Azula counted.

The door burst open, and there was Aang and Katara. Katara had a string of water out, ready to use, and Aang had his staff pointed straight at Azula and her gang.

"Where are they?" He demanded.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about," Azula told him.

"Don't lie!"

Azula gave a small laugh. "Oh, I'm not lying! I'm being completely honest. I promise."

"Yea, she's not lying!" Ty Lee added with a shake of the head.

"And why should I believe you?" Aang asked.

"To be honest, you can't. But believe me; I'm not lying this time." Azula insisted. "I have no clue where your friends are."

Aang looked at Katara, she looked back at him. So Sokka and Toph weren't there. But if they weren't there, then where were they? Would they be ok for now? Were they in any sort of danger? Well, Toph was. She was sick. Very sick. She needed treatment now.

"Aww, scared for your friends, are you? Well, they aren't the only one's you'll have to worry about after we're through with you. Mai, Ty Lee!" She called, and like trained circus animals, Azula's henchwomen sprang forward, and made their first move upon Aang and Katara.

Aang immediately waved his staff in a sideways motion, and air bended out of it in a wave so thick and powerful it was visibly seen by all. The wave flew right in Mai's direction, but Mai did a flip over it, and continued advancing on Aang.

Katara was left to face Ty Lee. She had faced her once before, and so Katara knew well that she had to be extremely careful not to let Ty Lee touch her. If she did, then she would probably lose her ability to bend.

Ty Lee came cart wheeling forward, and immediately tried to strike near Katara's shoulders. But Katara saw it coming this time, and she whipped Ty Lee's first hand, then the other away like a water bending slap. Ty Lee pouted, and then jumped up into the air, and flipped over Katara. Katara quickly turned to face Ty Lee just as she landed, and aimed a punch towards Katara's face. Katara ducked, and while she ducked, she sent a stream of water at Ty Lee's leg, wrapping the water around it, and then pulling, making Ty Lee fall over on her back.

Aang managed to air bend Mai back a few feet, but she quickly pulled out several sharp spiky disks and tossed them all at him. Aang dodged them all, but as soon as they had passed, another 5 came hurling towards him. Aang gasped, and quickly spun his staff in a swirling motion, catching the disks on his staff. He pulled them off, and looked around for a source of water he could use. He noticed the cup of water. Well it wasn't much, and it wasn't the best to use, but it was better than nothing. Aang waved his arm in a water bending fashion, and bended the water out of the cup, and then used the water whip move. Aang was able to hit Mai on the hand, making her drop her disks.

Mai gave him a dirty look, and was about to punch Aang when he blew in her face. But seeing as Aang was an Airbender, it was much more powerful. Mai resisted the wind, but ended up sliding back a foot, and then Aang waved his arm, and made Mai fly into the wall.

This gave Aang a few moments to look around to see where Azula had gone off to. He looked around, but the only other people he found in the room were Katara and Ty Lee, who were battling it out. So where was Azula? But before he could ponder the question any longer, Mai sent another, but much larger flying, pointed disk right at him. Aang ducked, and the disk flew across the room, getting even Katara and Ty Lee to notice and force them to duck before it flew into the opposite side wall.

The battle raged on, but all Aang wanted to do, now that he knew that Azula had ran off, was try and chase after her. Aang didn't want to continue fighting Mai, he wanted to follow Azula, and stop her from trying to hunt down and hurt Sokka or Toph.

Katara glanced over at Aang, and noticed he looked distraught as he fought Mai. Then she scanned the room as quickly as she could, but did not get a chance to look as thoroughly as Aang had. Not long enough to notice Azula was missing. For Ty Lee had used this momentary advantage to her gain. She tapped Katara in the right shoulder, making it slightly go numb, but mainly taking away most of her bending. Katara snapped back to attention, and was forced to use her left hand to bend, but it made things much harder. She managed to form a large, but not too powerful ball of water, and throw it into Ty Lee's face, splashing her with water, and drenching her clothes.

"Hey! That's not fair! You ruined my outfit…and my hair!" Ty Lee said with a large frown.

"Oh, boo hoo, the circus freak's hair and outfit are completely ruined because of a little water." Katara replied in a mocking tone. She even made a face to match, and pretended to wipe tears off of her face..

Ty Lee couldn't stand it. She bound forward, and started attacking Katara double time. She managed to tap her in the other shoulder, leaving Katara unable to bend.

"Why you little--!" Katara yelled.

"What are you gunna do now, water girl? You can't bend anymore!" Ty Lee smiled, thinking that she had won.

Katara gritted her teeth, but she was not about to give up. She lifted her leg into the air, and kicked Ty Lee as hard as she possibly could in the shin.

"Ow! That hurt!" Ty Lee whined. She lifted up her leg, and clutched the area Katara kicked. Then she started to hop up and down, yelping in pain. "Ow! Ow! Ow!"

Katara couldn't help but laugh. Ty Lee was taken care of. She looked over at Aang, still busy fighting Mai. It didn't look like Mai was getting tired at all, but Aang was losing his energy. Not to mention the fact that he didn't have much water to use, and there weren't any Earthbending materials around either. Katara unattached her small water carrier, and called to Aang.

Aang turned to look at Katara quickly. A moment later, she tossed him her water carrier. "Thanks Katara!" He yelled back to her, and then he turned to continue fighting with Mai. He ducked as she tried to hit him again, then he pulled more water out of the water carrier, and started to use the water whip move once more, but it was much more effective this time.

Mai was soon too bruised to continue fighting, not to mention, she was out of disks, so she stopped fighting.

Aang looked over at Katara. "Katara, Azula left! She must have gone to track down Sokka and Toph. Come on; we need to go find them!"

Katara nodded, and joined him. They ran out the door to the Inn room, leaving Ty Lee hopping around as she continued to whine in pain; Mai, tending to her bruises and recollecting her disks; and a small puddle of water on the wooden floor.

* * *

**I know, you hate me! I didn't say anything about Toph or Sokka at ALL in this chapter. Nothing about what they're up to, where they went, if they're ok…nothing. But I promise you'll find out all about that in the next chapter. I'M SO SORRY! However, if you want me to update soon, you have to review! So, REVIEW!!!**

**Tres**


	6. Running

**Toph's Mistake**

**Chapter 6:**

**Running**

**MONKEYFEATHERS! Look at all the wonderful reviews!!!!! You reviewers are SOOOOO awesome! I'm going to give you all 2 bags of fire flakes, (if you're into that sort of stuff…) some avatar shaped dough dipped in oil, and everyone's very own, individual fire nation messenger bird! Thanks for reviewing!**

_**Summer Sweetheart-**_**Ah, I had a feeling someone might say something about that. I agree, they are very tough to write, but I try my best at them, and I don't think I do too bad with them. But that was probably the toughest part to write. And the fact that there's so many different types of styles of bending and fighting in Avatar didn't make it any easier. I'm glad you thought it was ok, though. Oh geeze! Don't hurt me! Please! Please! I beg you! Wow, it's a good thing I decided to start typing this new chapter up! I hope it satisfies you.**

_**Pink Pagoda-**_**Why THANK YOU! Well, you're about to find out where those two are! And, you'll figure out if Toph's condition is getting worse or better soon enough. Yea, actually, I used to almost never update my stories, which is why most of them die. And the fact that most of them were poorly written. But I'm also happy that I'm updating more frequently. It assures me that I'm safer from angry readers carrying knives and pitchforks and all that. lol. I hope you like this new chapter!**

_**Aevium-**_**I am glad that you thought so! Good! PERFECT! That's what I was hoping for!!! To build up suspense! Yea, I had to fight back the urge to sneak in a little part that told you guys what was going on with Sokka and Toph, but I thought it would be MUCH more interesting to keep it a secret. :) ****. lol. I'm glad to know that you enjoyed the chapter, and the fight scene! I wasn't sure if I did a very spectacular job on it, but I guess I didn't do as bad as I thought. Yes, Azula does seem to pull the old sliperoo. lol. But, have no fear! You'll find out where she is soon enough. Yea, she might catch up, she might not. You'll see! Well, you're waiting is over! Here's the next chapter soon! But, after I finish responding to reviews. Thanks, I'm thrilled to know you liked it!**

**Oh, that's what it means! I see! That is VERY cool! So, you take latin, I assume?**

_**Lady Blade WarAngel-**_**Thanks, it's good to hear so!**

**All right! Now that I've got the review replying done with, which was fun to do, cause I love to reply to the reviewers and stuffs. So, without further ado, it is time to reveal what happened to Sokka and Toph, and reveal the location and whereabouts of Azula!**

**And by the way, Tokka fans are going to REALLY like this chapter. hint, hint. Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge!

* * *

**

Sokka ran. He ran as fast as he could. Well, he could have ran much faster, but having Toph, who was pretty out of it at the moment, in his arms made it very difficult. Sokka quickly glanced down at her. Her eyes were closed. And right when he was about to mentally declare her asleep, she spoke.

"Sokka, what's going on?"

Sokka didn't know of a time where Toph sounded so incredibly weak. She was speaking in a whisper, but besides the fact that she was sick, she was still in a sleepy state, so maybe that's why her voice sounded weaker than it had a bit earlier. Either that or her condition was getting worse. Sokka hoped it was the first one. But, this still made Sokka very worried. And what would happen when Aang and Katara came back to an abandon Inn room? Or worse, those Fire Nation girls.

"Sokka, I want an answer."

Now her voice sounded a bit stronger and demanding. And better yet, part of the Toph that Sokka knew had just spoken out. That was good. Sokka then realized that she needed an answer. But he was too busy running, and so he could not take the time to speak. Speaking would only drain his energy.

He wasn't even sure where he was headed. All he knew was that he had to run, and he had to get Toph out of there. And he did. But he also needed to help her get better. He also needed to find shelter, and safety. But still, what about Aang and Katara? How would they find them? Sokka didn't know. But he knew for sure that he needed to run, and keep on running. Even if he was getting tired. Even if Toph's small body seemed to get heavier with each foot forward. Sokka had never felt so panicked and paranoid in all his life. But, the paranoia helped keep him going.

* * *

"So we know that Sokka and Toph escaped, but where to?" Katara wondered aloud as they ran away from the Inn back into the town.

"I have no clue." Aang said. "But we need to find them soon. Toph is getting sicker by the moment."

"I know. Maybe we should go back to Granny Wong's and get the medicine, then we can go try and find Sokka and Toph, and that way we can help Toph quicker when we find her and Sokka." Katara suggested.

"It's worth a shot. But we need to be quick. Azula's probably chasing them, and those other girls, I think they were named Mai and Ty Lee, will be after us again soon." Aang said.

"I know. Come on!" Katara gained speed, and ran in the direction of the apothecary. Soon, she and Aang reached it. They ran straight into the building, and into the back room.

"Ah, you're back!" Granny Wong said turning to face them. The Earthbender was gone, but Granny Wong must have decided to stay in the back room for one reason or another.

"Yea, but we need the medicine, and quick." Katara told her.

"Oh, well it was a good thing that I decided to start working on it while you were away, wasn't it?" Granny Wong asked as she turned around and picked up something, then turned back to face the two. "It's not finished, it still needs some stirring." She told them.

"And don't you need to add one last ingredient, grandmother?" asked Mei Lee, who was sitting on a chair in the corner by the medicine table.

"Oh, why yes I do! Thank you for reminding me, Mei Lee." Granny Wong said with a smile. "What would I ever do without you? Hmmm?"

Mei Lee smiled back. "My pleasure, grandmother." Mei Lee answered back. She chuckled at her grandmother's second comment. "I have no clue, but it's a good thing you do."

"How long is it going to take?" Aang asked.

"5—maybe 10 minutes."

"5-10 minutes? Well, that's not too long," Aang stated with relief.

"Oh, but then I've got to add the last, and most important final ingredient, which means the remedy must be stirred for another 10 minutes." Granny Wong added.

"WHAT?!?!?!?" Katara shrieked, her eyes growing just as big as Aang's were. That was at least 20 minutes altogether!

"We don't have that much time!" Aang said.

"I'm sorry, but there's no way to speed up the process." Granny Wong told them apologetically.

"Are you sure?" Aang asked.

"Oh, I'm sure as I could possibly be." Granny Wong replied calmly.

"But we need the medicine now." Aang insisted.

"I'm sorry young man, but there's no way I can speed up the process. You're just going to have to wait."

"Grandmother, is it possible that you could give them the final ingredient, and the bowl and mixing spoon, and let them take it with them? That would allow them to be on their way, but work on the remedy as well." Mei Lee suggested.

"I'll have to buy another set, but, I guess that's fine. Let me finish stirring this, and I'll add the final ingredient, then you can be on your way and stir the mixture." Granny Wong said.

"All right, great." Aang said quickly. "Just, I'm not trying to be rude, but please hurry up!"

Granny Wong simply nodded, and began stirring once more, then went on talking as she continued to stir. "The last ingredient will be added in after this. But as soon as you start stirring, you cannot stop. You must be consistent. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Granny Wong. We understand." Katara said calmly with a nod.

"All right then. Just another five minutes or so, and then I'll be able to add the ingredient, and you can begin stirring and be on your way."

The two benders nodded, and waited for five minutes. When the five minutes came, Granny Wong stopped stirring, and told Aang and Katara it was time to add in the next ingredient. She walked across the room to a large shelf of vials and jars, and took out a small bottle that was halfway filled. Then she uncorked it, and dumped a small handful into the mixing bowl. Then she corked it once more, and stuck it back on the shelf. Granny Wong turned to Aang and Katara. "Now, who shall be holding and stirring this?" She asked.

Aang and Katara looked at each other, wondering who would. But Katara raised her hand, and took the responsibility of stirring. Granny Wong nodded, and handed the bowl over to Katara. Katara took it, and looked down at it. Immediately, she made a face. "Ugh, it smells and looks horrible!"

Aang looked over into the bowl and made a small gagging noise. "Katara's right! Wow, I feel bad for Toph, who's going to have to drink this."

"Yea, me too." Katara said with a nod.

Granny Wong laughed, but then became serious once more. "Well, go on then! Start stirring!"

"Thank you, Granny Wong." Aang said as they headed out.

"It was my pleasure." She replied.

Aang and Katara then turned around, and walked out of the back room and out of the shop. Katara began to stir, as they walked along the road and through the town.

"All right, time to get going. I don't see those girls around, but there's no telling when they'll show up. Come on Katara." Aang said. He broke off into a run, and Katara followed, running as fast as she could while she continued to stir the horrible smelling and nasty looking concoction.

* * *

Azula had snuck out through the back exit of the Inn after Sokka and Toph. Then she broke off into a run towards the forest, knowing she would most likely find the two soon enough. She knew she would. Everything always went well for her.

* * *

Sokka finally stopped at the edge of the forest. He just couldn't run anymore. And Toph was too much to carry. He found a large, mossy tree trunk that had tumbled over, and decided to sit down. But he decided not to put Toph down. He held her in his arms, incase, god forbid, he had to start running once more. He had a feeling that someone, one of the Fire Nation girls, was following him. His instincts usually weren't wrong.

But even though he wouldn't admit it, Sokka was holding Toph for one other reason. Toph was twice as pale as she had been before, and she'd also somehow managed to drift off into sleep after trying to get him to answer her question. Sokka was extremely worried about her. It was so odd to see Toph, the extremely bossy, stubborn, tough-girl Earthbender he knew so well be reduced to this. A weak, frail, pale, sickly blind girl. Sokka looked down at her. She still hadn't woken up. And even though he didn't want to wake her, he had to. This was probably one of the only times he had when he would be able to explain to her what was going on, and to check how she was doing. "Toph?" He called out to her.

Toph groaned, and she lifted her head slightly, but she kept her eyes closed. "Sokka? Is that you?"

"Yea, are you feeling ok?" He asked.

Toph put her head back down, but he knew she was still awake. "Yea, but I'm so tired. And I'm really cold. Sokka, where are we? What's going on?" She asked.

"We're at the edge of a forest--" Before he could continue, Toph interrupted.

"A forest? Why?"

"Because it wasn't Aang and Katara that came back. I don't think you've met these girls yet, but they're these really dangerous Fire Nation girls. They're hunting us, and they found us at the Inn. So I did the only thing I could do, since you wouldn't get up yourself and come with me. Those Fire Nation girls were coming up the stairs quickly, and I needed to get us out of there. So I picked you up, and carried you out of the back exit to the Inn, and I ran as fast as I could with you in my arms through the forest." Sokka finished. "It wasn't easy."

Toph gave a small chuckle. "Sorry, Snoozles."

Sokka smiled; for once he didn't mind the nickname. But he forgot that she couldn't see his smile.

"Thanks for saving me back there." Toph added. "I owe you one."

Sokka laughed. "Yea, you do." He said jokingly. "But you don't have to worry about it until you're healthy again."

"Good, because I don't think I could do much for you at the moment." She said. Toph coughed, but the coughing fit was only a small one that quickly subsided.

Sokka chuckled, but stopped when he noticed that she was shivering. There weren't any blankets, so he did the only thing he could. Toph would probably kill him for all of this later. Sokka pulled Toph close to him, and wrapped his arms around her.

"Sokka, what are you doing?" Toph asked weakly.

"Trying to help you stay warm. You can go ahead and kill me later."

Toph said nothing in return, and she didn't do anything either. But she let Sokka try and help her. She felt too weak, sick, and tired to do anything. She tried to stay awake, but it seemed so hard for her to stay conscious while she was sick. Before she knew it, she'd fallen fast asleep as Sokka cradled her in an attempt to keep her warm.

**

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DON'T CLOSE THE WINDOW! REVIEW! Please let me know what you thought of the chapter, and if you think I could improve on anything.**

**Tokka fans, I'm sure you going ballistic during the last portion of this chapter! lol.**

**I'll update as soon as I can!**

**Tres**


	7. A Message In The Flames

**Toph's Mistake**

**Chapter 7:**

**A Message In The Flames**

_**Gothic Arctic snow Wolf-**_**No! Don't die on me! That would be bad! Hey, would that count as some type of twisted murder? I hope not. Well, I can tell you this: I would NEVER kill off Toph! Toph's too awesome and tough to die. By the way, there won't be any character deaths in here. I did that once in one of my non-Avatar stories with a character that wasn't even a main one, but one I made up, and everyone despised me because of that. And because I felt so bad, I made a sequel, though it's not going very well. : ( Thanks for the review!**

_**Lady Blade WarAngel-**_**Why thank you! I'm glad you liked it. You are VERY welcome for the birdie! Tell Kiki I said hello! Oh no, we wouldn't want that. lol! Thanks for reviewing!**

**I know this is a rather early update, but, I decided to be nice. ; ) . See how awesome I am? Though this chapter is a little shorter than most of the other ones.**

* * *

His stomach began to rumble. That's when he realized that he hadn't eaten since…he couldn't remember the last meal he had. Why couldn't Azula and those girls wait until _after _they had all had something to eat? He needed to find food. More importantly, he needed to start moving again. He didn't want to let whoever was chasing them to catch up. Sokka stood up, still holding Toph close to him in an attempt to keep her warm. He looked around, and then walked past the log they had been resting on, and began running once more.

* * *

She was close. Azula knew it. She had to be. She quickened her pace to make sure she didn't get too far behind. She'd find them soon enough, and when she did, she would make sure they were still alive, but just barely. Just enough to make sure the Avatar and his Waterbending friend were forced to come to their rescue, being lured into the trap, and forced to make a deal. A deal where she would let the two live, but only if the Avatar gave himself over to Azula and the Fire Nation. Then she'd kill him. Bye-bye Avatar, bye-bye resistance. Azula grinned at the very thought of all this.

* * *

"How many minutes has it been?" Katara asked wearily. Her hand was getting tired of stirring the contents in the bowl for so long without a pause.

"I think it's been long enough." Aang said.

"Good, because I can't mix this anymore." Katara said as she stopped stirring.

They had slowed down to a walk, having entered the same woods they had been in earlier. Soon the two would reach the large cave that they had left Appa in. He was close enough so that he could find some food such as grass. Maybe Toph and Sokka would be there. If not, they weren't sure where else the two could have gone.

* * *

"I was beaten—by a 12 year old." Mai stated.

"Well he's the Avatar, Mai." Ty Lee pointed out while doing a double flip as they walked through an area of woods.

"Yea, but he's still only 12 years old." Mai went on.

"It's ok, Mai. Don't feel bad. I still think you're a great fighter!" Ty Lee said encouragingly.

Mai's lip curled into a small, barely noticeable smile. "Thanks Ty Lee."

"Any time, Mai." Ty Lee said with a smile.

"But still, Azula isn't going to be happy about the fact that we were beaten and we let them get away."

"Yea, but I'm sure she has some sort of back up plan, right?"

"I suppose," Mai said with a shrug.

"See, we'll be fine. Azula will forgive us. Don't be so negative, Mai." Ty Lee replied, now walking on her hands. "It's bad for you."

"Can't you walk regularly?" Mai asked as she looked down at Ty Lee, now changing the subject.

"But it's fun!" Ty Lee insisted. "But all right. I'll stop." Ty Lee did a back flip, and landed on her feet.

"Thank you." Mai replied gratefully.

* * *

Sokka knew he couldn't run forever. And he proved to be right. He was right bout that, and one other thing. There was someone following him. They were detected when he heard a twig snap, and rushing footsteps. But Sokka wasn't sure who it was that had caught up to him. Sokka knew if he ran, the person would simply catch him, and very easily as well, because of Toph. So Sokka quickly and quietly hid behind a large bush with a tree next to it, and stayed as quiet as he possibly could, looking down at Toph, then back up ahead of him. A moment later, he heard a voice calling.

"I know you're out here somewhere. Come out now, and I promise I'll go easy on you."

_Azula._ It was her. She was extremely dangerous. And rather frightening, as well.

"Come on, don't be shy. You're only wasting your time trying to hide from me. I'll find you soon enough." Azula continued, a dangerous tint to her tone.

Sokka heard her voice grow nearer towards his hiding spot. He looked down at Toph, still asleep. Then he looked up. Any moment now that Fire Nation girl's face would pop up above him grinning evilly and staring down at him. Then she would say something threatening or deadly, and then capture them. Then, as she spoke once more, her voice grew more distant, farther up.

Azula searched, but did not see anyone or hear anyone. And then she got an idea. Holding out her hand, a blue flame appeared in it. Azula's lips curled into a sly smile, and then she tossed the ball in one direction, igniting a bush.

Sokka's eyes grew big and fearful when he spotted a bush not too far away catch fire.

Azula continued the process, lighting up bush after bush along both sides of the path. She pulled back her arm, loaded with another blue ball of fire, ready to ignite the last bush, the one with Sokka and Toph behind it.

Sokka knew it. There was no way he could hide any longer, and if he stayed hidden, he and Toph would be burned. He knew that trying to find a new hiding place was hopeless as well. Azula would continue searching, and continue burning until there was nothing left. Sokka had no choice. "Wait!" He shouted, standing up from behind the bush.

Azula curled her hands into a fist, making the fire burn out, and dropped her arm. She placed her hands on her hips, and a victorious, but twisted smile laid upon her face. "Well, well, well. Look who it is."

* * *

Finally, Aang and Katara reached the cave.

"Hey buddy." Aang said, petting Appa. He looked around. "Where are Toph and Sokka?"

"They're not in here." Katara declared. "I don't see them anywhere nearby."

"Then where could they be?" Aang wondered.

"Maybe you can fly up on your glider and try and spot them, Aang." Katara suggested.

"Good idea, Katara." Aang said. He walked out of the cave, and opened his glider. Then he tossed it into the air, jumped onto it, and took off into the air.

Katara watched from the ground, hoping desperately that Aang would spot something. Anything.

Aang stayed up there for five minutes, and then spotted something. He immediately flew down.

"Katara, I think I know where they are!" He shouted.

"Where? Where are they?" Katara asked impatiently.

"We've got to hurry." Was all he said. He took her by the hand, and pulled her onto Appa. Then they flew across the village, and to the other side of the forest, and then landed.

"This way!" Aang announced as he jumped off Appa and began running in a random direction.

Katara slid off Appa as quickly as she could, and ran after Aang. Soon they came to a large open space of woods; only most of this area had been set aflame.

"It forms the word 'SURRENDER'." Aang told Katara, but looking at the withering blue flames.

Katara gasped.

"Azula."

**

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I'm very sorry that this chapter was more on the short side. But, it just happened that way. I promise the next chapter will be longer. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!!!**

**Tres**


	8. Tough Choices

**Toph's Mistake**

**Chapter 8:**

**Tough Choices**

**Hooray for reviews! Thank you to everyone who reviewed!**

_**Aevium-**_**Yes. Very bad indeed. But you'll find out how the situation turns out hopefully all in this chapter. Or I might drag it on to the next chapter. Yes, I apologize for the short chapter. But, I didn't intend on it. I just happened to fit all of what I wanted in there in a shorter span than usual. But at least I made it interesting, right? I'm glad you liked it! Yes, you'll find out where she took them in this chapter, I promise. Yea, I thought someone would say that. It was what I was aiming for. I will try my best to keep up the amazing work! Thank you for your wonderful review!**

_**Summer Sweetheart-**_**lol. Well, we'll see how it plays out. But, there probably aren't too many left, I'm sorry to say. Thanks! I'm glad you liked them! I appreciate the great review!**

_**Cra-z4Avatar-**_**Wow! That is a LOT! And that's really quick, too! I'm a slow reader, but a very efficient one. I give you two thumbs up for the quick and long reading! Thanks for taking the time to do so. I like that one word. It's a good describing word. Especially for a chapter of an Avatar fanfic! Yea, I try and stay away from that type of romance stuff. Oh, that's a very interesting idea that Sokka has an idea hidden up his sleeves. Though, I don't this he has sleeves, does he? Oh well. Maybe he's got something. You'll have to wait and see! Thanks for reviewing!**

_**1ashbash13-**_**I'm working on writing more! It takes a while! Really? You think it's that good? Thank you! I'll try and work some more Tokka in here, possibly, but I'm not promising anything, sorry. Oh, I'll make sure I continue with this one. Ooh! Biggest fan? Sweet. I got a biggest fan! Thanks for the review!**

_**Lady Blade WarAngel-**_**Thanks! I'm glad you did like it! I hope you like the update, and thanks for the review!**

* * *

They surveyed the area once more, in some farfetched hope that they would possibly find Toph and Sokka. But there was no one to be found, nothing there except the burning message written on the bushes.

"How are we going to find them?" Katara asked.

"I don't know Katara." Aang said, looking down at the ground.

"And how are we going to get them from Azula? What about Toph, she's extremely sick!" Katara's mind spun with questions and worries. Aang had had enough of it.

"Katara, stop it!" He yelled rather loudly.

Katara's eyes widened for a moment from the sudden outburst, and looked at him, shocked.

"Worrying and constantly asking questions isn't going to help us find them. I need focus, quiet, and concentration to try and think of some way to fix this, and when you keep on voicing your worries and keep asking questions, it's not helping. It's making me feel worse and worse about the fact that I wasn't there to help them." He said, finally calming down once more.

"I'm sorry, Aang." Katara couldn't think of much more to say to him. "But, don't feel guilty, I wasn't there either, and I could have helped also."

"It's ok, Katara." He muttered. "But now we need to try and figure out where Azula took them."

"Maybe we can help with that." Replied a female voice from behind them. Aang and Katara both spun around to face Mai.

Aang noticed something strange, and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Where's that other girl?"

"Oh, her." Was all Mai said dryly.

Katara was about to make some sarcastic comment back when all of the sudden, something flew from one of the remaining tree's still standing. Katara and Aang whipped around, but saw nothing except a few leaves falling off a thick, heavy branch. A moment later, Ty Lee popped up in front of Katara. Katara was momentarily shocked, but quickly got over it, and she narrowed her eyes, now focused on beating Ty Lee once more.

Katara waved her hands, and water came out of her water pouch, and Ty Lee got in a battle stance. But before a single thing happened, there was another voice that stopped them.

"Don't waste your time fighting these two, Mai, Ty Lee."

"Azula." Katara and Aang managed to say at the same time.

Aang automatically went into defensive mode. "Where are my friends?" He demanded.

"Oh, the fool with the boomerang and the sick little blind girl?"

Aang glared at her, waiting for a real answer.

"Oh, how rude of me! I forgot to tell you where they were, didn't I? Well, I'm afraid I can't tell you that. Yet. But, you'll find out soon enough."

"Tell me where they are!!" Aang shouted louder this time.

"I will, I will. But first, let's make a deal." Azula said, taking a few steps towards Aang.

Aang raised an eyebrow, wondering what kind of deal Azula was going to propose to him. He looked to Katara momentarily, and noticed she was glaring at Azula suspiciously as well. "What kind of deal?" He asked.

Azula stopped, a few feet away from Aang. "The deal is," she paused, "that I'll give you your friends, if you turn yourself over to me." She then gave a smirk, knowing that the Avatar would have trouble with this, but surely, he would turn himself over. Anything for his friends. That much was obvious, she noted.

Katara gasped, and looked at Aang, who looked just as surprised, but very nervous and confused as well. She ran over to him, and spoke in a low tone, "Aang, don't tell me your thinking of doing this,"

"It's the only way to get Sokka and Toph back, though," Aang replied in the same soft tone, so Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee didn't over hear.

"But if you turn yourself in, there's no point in freeing them. We'll free them ourselves." Katara pointed out.

"But that's almost impossible! Do you see what those girls are capable of?!?" Aang said, pointing over to the three Fire Nation girls.

"Yes, but we can do it, Aang! I know it! Look. I know you're a bit new to Earthbending, but you can do it. You can Airbend and Waterbend also. And I'll be there to help you, and I can Waterbend." She said encouragingly. Katara put a hand on his shoulder. "I know we can do it. More importantly, I know _you_ can do it, Aang." She paused. "Trust me."

Aang opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out, he wasn't sure how to respond. He shut his mouth, and then looked down at the ground for a few moments, then up at Katara. Apparently, he wasn't thoroughly convinced.

"Aang, you need to make the right decision. And you know what that is. You can't give yourself over to Azula; you'll never escape on your own. And if you go with her, getting Sokka and Toph back is a lost cause. Who knows what Azula will do, and we both know it's nothing good. And then we'll lose our only chance at winning this war. And that's you. Come on, Aang. Don't agree to the deal. Say no, and we can get Sokka and Toph back another way." Katara said desperately.

"But we only have so much time. We need to help Toph, and if we don't help her now, well…I don't want to think about that."

"But Aang, the longer we stand here and try and think of what to do, the sicker Toph's getting." Katara insisted. "Just trust me, we can get them back another way, and make it on time to Toph." She added, hoping he would finally agree.

Aang was silent for a few moments, and then he finally nodded. "All right, Katara. We can try it your way."

"Thank you, Aang." Katara said with a smile.

Aang turned around, and looked at Azula. Katara stood by his side. "No deal."

Azula raised her eyebrows in shock. "Really? Well, if you're sure then…Mai, Ty Lee!"

Aang hadn't even realized that the two girls had left.

Mai and Ty Lee stepped out, Mai holding Toph (who was still unconscious), and Ty Lee holding, well, more like snuggling Sokka as he twitched.

Mai looked over at Ty Lee. "Ty Lee, stop it." Ty Lee ignored her.

Aang and Katara both gasped, of course, both looked a bit disturbed at the sight of Ty Lee squeezing Sokka.

Azula held up a hand, and a blue fireball appeared. Then she looked at Aang. "Now, who should I kill first? Hmmm?"

Sokka looked at Aang, but he knew Aang wouldn't try and pick. He would try and do something.

Minutes went by, still no answer. Azula looked at him. "Maybe I should kill off the sick one. Put her out of her misery." Azula snickered, holding her fire in the direction of Toph.

"NO!" Aang shouted.

Azula looked at him. "Oh, then I guess I'll be killing this one instead." She said, waving her fire towards Sokka.

"NO!" Aang shouted again.

"Well I can't wait all day! Pick one, or I'll pick one for you." Azula said impatiently.

Suddenly, Sokka spoke up. "Hey, over here!" He shouted to Azula.

Azula raised an eyebrow, and turned to Sokka, the blue flame still in her hand. "Unless you're going to ask whether you can be the first one to die, I don't want to hear a word from you."

"Nope, you guessed it." Sokka said.

"Sokka, no!" Katara shouted to him. Sokka ignored her.

Azula smiled. "Well, at least someone's cooperating." She glanced over at Aang, then back at Sokka. "Any last words?"

Sokka shook his head. "Just go ahead and do it." He said calmly.

Azula lifted her hand back, and Aang and Katara watched in horror, unable to move. Then, she tossed the fireball, right at Sokka.

Ty Lee stepped back, for the first time, letting go of Sokka.

And right as the fireball was about to hit him, he jumped out of the way, and ran towards Mai, who was holding Toph lightly, and making a face, thinking she would get the sickness. Sokka grabbed Toph, and ran behind a tree.

"COME BACK HERE!" Azula bellowed.

Aang and Katara didn't move for a moment, but then they realized Sokka was safe, and what he had done, and immediately they went into action.

Katara pulled a long string of water from her water pouch, and caught Azula's leg with it, making her trip, and fall onto the ground while Aang went to go after Sokka and Toph.

"Why you little…" Azula got up, and shot a jet of fire at Katara.

Katara ducked.

Then Azula tried to shoot another jet of blue fire at Katara, but before she could do so, Katara whipped her hand harshly, using her signature move, the water whip. Azula kicked her leg out at Katara, and larger line of fire came out towards Katara.

Katara rolled onto the ground, dodging the fire.

"Sokka, take Toph and head over in that direction," Aang said, pointing. "My staff and a small bowl with a mixing spoon are there, and all you have to do is wake up Toph, and get her to take it. Stay with her until me and Katara get there."

Sokka had half the mind to stay and help fight, but he knew he wasn't much help, and he wouldn't be able to defend himself too much. So he nodded, and then took off.

Aang then ran back out into the battle, where Ty Lee and Mai were waiting for him. Over on the other end of the clearing was Katara, who was fighting Azula.

As the two girls advanced, Aang lifted his hands, and did some Earthbending. Four thick, tall walls rose up from the ground, forming a tall, but very small, tight box. Knowing that would hold them, Aang ran off to help Katara.

Mai looked over at Ty Lee, who was whimpering, and looking extremely upset. "What's your problem, Ty Lee?"

"Mai, I'm claustrophobic." Ty Lee whimpered.

"Oh yea. I forgot. Great." Mai said miserably as she stood in the small little Earthen square.

**

* * *

REVIEW!!!!!!! OR ELSE! Well, actually, I don't know what the "or else" is. So…JUST REVIEW!**

**Haha, I bet you all thought that Sokka was actually going to give himself up, right? See, Sokka IS smart!**

**Next chapter will include-**

**-Aang and Katara battling Azula**

**-Toph being awakened by Sokka and given the medicine**

**-An injury of some sort**

**-Appa to the rescue!**

**Next chapter will be the SECOND to last chapter. The battle will end, the problem is solved, and things start winding down. But then, after that chapter, I'll write a final, concluding chapter. Sound good? Good!**

**Oh yea, if there were any typos in here, (I was too lazy, and I didn't have the time, to read the whole thing over for spelling mistakes or typos, so, if you see them, please excuse me, and forgive me, and I appologize for that. So, try not to mention that in the review if you spot any. Thanks!!**

**Tres**


	9. Tough, Not Heartless

**Toph's Mistake**

**Chapter 9:**

**Tough, Not Heartless**

**I didn't expect so many reviews in such a short time! The other day I got home from school after posting the chapter that morning, and found 10 reviews already!! You reviewers ROCK!!!! And there were a few new reviewers too, I noticed.**

**Thank you to those who reviewed!!**

_**1ashbash13-**_**Thanks! Yes, he is. Sokka's awesome. **_**"hugs nearest person, who happens to be my sister**_**" Haha. 3 of them? Just in the author's note? Oh boy. Wow. That's sorta bad. lol. Well, I was sorta in a rush. I was leaving to go…somewhere, I can't remember where…when I wrote the end of this, and so that's why it's probably poorly written at the end. I'm sorry. Forgive me! But, thank you for pointing those out! Thanks for the review, and staying dedicated and being my biggest fan!**

_**Spiderswing432-lol. **_**I know what you mean. Poorly written stories are very annoying. I'm happy to know that you think this one is not one of them. Thanks for the compliment! Oh yes, I know I spelled Sokka's name wrong in the first chapter. I'm ashamed of that. I try to avoid looking back on that chapter for that reason alone. Some day I have to go back and edit that. Thanks for the review!**

_**Relxs-**_**Thanks!**

_**Aevium-**_**Thanks! Yes, I like suspense. Suspense is good! And action. I like action. Action's awesome too. Yay! I'm glad you liked it! Yeah, Mai is sorta hard to write. You need to make sure she has just the right amount of dismay and hate and pessimism in order to have her in character. But she's very fun to write! I couldn't help but put in that part with Mai being disgusted about holding Toph. I'm glad you liked that! Exactly. I didn't want to drag it on for too long. I'm just as sad that its ending as you are. Thanks so much for the review!**

_**kataanglovr52-**_**Yes! Indeed they are! But in this chapter, they're slowly starting to wind down, though there is some action, as always. Thanks for the review!**

_**Summer Sweetheart-**_**Very clever! I hope you like the new chapter! I appreciate the review!**

_**Lady Blad WarAngel-**_**Thanks! HAHA! I was hoping someone would comment about that! Haha. I'm not exactly a fan of Tylokka….or, whatever you wanna call that pairing, but I do find it sorta cute, and funny. I couldn't help but apply it in the story. Haha. BIRDIE!! How's birdie doing? Thanks so much for the review!**

**Thanks so much for your reviews everyone! They made me smile. **

**So now, on with the fanfic!**

**Oh yea, and Tokka fans, you'll totally love me for this chapter. **

* * *

Sokka reached the destination Aang had described. He set Toph down on the grass, and then shook her shoulder. 

No response.

Sokka shook her shoulder harder, and called out Toph's name. This time, there was a response. Sokka sighed in relief, hearing Toph give a groan, and seeing her make a lazy attempt at smacking his hand away. Sokka couldn't help but chuckle. If Toph had not been groggy, not to mention sick as well, she would have responded to his laughter by sending him flying with an Earthbending move. But all she did was try and swat at him once more.

"Come on, Toph. Wake up." Sokka urged, shaking her shoulder once more.

"Why?" Toph moaned softly.

"Look, do you want to get better, or no?" Sokka demanded.

"I feel horrible, Sokka."

"I know. And if you take this medicine, then you won't feel that way much longer, I promise." Sokka picked up the bowl, and gently lifted Toph's head.

"Fine. I just want to stop feeling so helpless, and so sick."

Sokka chuckled. "I don't blame you. Now open your mouth, and drink this. All of it."

It was a good thing Toph couldn't see what the medicine looked like, or else she probably would have never drank it. Or at least, not willingly. Unfortunately, her sense of taste was still as strong as anyone else's, and as soon as the liquid slipped into her mouth and she swallowed, she started to choke, and make some gagging noises. "Ew! What's in that stuff?" She demanded at once.

Sokka laughed, but quickly stopped to answer her question. "I don't know, but it sure looked gross."

"You're lucky you didn't have to drink that, Snoozles."

"So I take it that you're feeling better?"

Toph did not respond. All she did, was lean forward, and give him a kiss on the lips, and then she leaned back, blushing, while waiting for a response.

Sokka's mouth fell wide open, his eyes bulged, and he was speechless. After what seemed like forever, he spoke. "Wha—what was that?" He asked, dumbfounded.

"It was a kiss, you idiot!"

"I knew that!" Sokka replied defensively. Then he calmed back down, "But _why'd_ you kiss me? I mean—well, you're not--"

"Well…." Toph trailed off, becoming shy and not sure what to say either.

"Are you—shy?" Sokka asked with a raised eyebrow, hardly believing it himself.

"Of course not!" Toph replied in her normal tone. Figured. She'd never admit that she was shy. She'd never admit anything.

"Well then tell me why you kissed me." Sokka demanded once more.

Toph sighed. "Well, I wanted to thank you for what you did, but, mainly because--well--becauseIlikeyou." She said quietly in one quick, jumbled sentence. Her pale cheeks turned bright red.

"You what?" Sokka asked, looking confused and unsure.

Toph sighed once more. "Because…well, I like you, Sokka."

"Wait—you—you what?" He asked, having heard her clearly, but still in complete shock and disbelief.

"Are you deaf?" Toph asked impatiently.

"No! Just—I never thought of you as the--affectionate type…" He admitted.

Sokka, I'm tough, not heartless."

ZZZZZ

Katara turned for a moment, seeing bright orange out of the corner of her eye. Her face lit up as she saw Aang run forward to help aid her. She turned back around to see Azula make a blade-like string of fire, and then thrash it down upon her. Katara created a protective shield of ice above her, but the ice shattered when the fire made contact with it, and the force of the blow knocked Katara down. Just then, Aang approached, and leashed out all he could on Azula, tossing boulders, strong jets of air, and whips of water. Katara watched in amazement. She'd never seen him so determined.

Azula jumped back, and ducked and dodged all she could, and fired several shots back at him. But he seemed to be able to block all her moves, and he was moving so quickly. Aang was almost a blur, fiercely tossing around elements at her. She swung her leg, created a long wave of fire, and thrashed it at an ongoing wave of water. The water hit the wave of fire, and melted instantly. Then Azula lashed out a wall of fire, and shoved it towards Aang, who sent the fire back at her using an equally sized wall of air. Upon seeing this, she waved her hands, catching the fire, and curled it into a ball, and thrust it like a baseball at him.

Aang ducked, and then created a ball of water. He rolled it across the ground towards Azula, and then had it rise a few inches, and wrap around Azula's ankle. Then he froze it over, freezing her in place.

The Fire Nation Princess growled in aggravation, and then a moment later, the ice started glowing red. A moment later, the ice burst, and Azula's feet were freed.

Katara got up, and raised her hands to do a bending move and help Aang overtake the Fire Nation Princess. But as she put more force and strength into her hands and arms, she felt a sharp sting, and quickly dropped her arms, then looked at her right hand, where she felt the sting come from. Katara gasped quietly, seeing a gash on her palm, not bleeding excessively, but still bleeding. She figured it must have been from when Azula knocked her down and her shield of ice broke. A piece of sharp, glass-like ice must have cut her hand. So now what was she supposed to do? Stand and watch? Now she felt a lot like Sokka. Katara sighed, and stepped back slowly and quietly, so she didn't alert anyone. She didn't want to get hurt any more than she was, or cause Aang to get hurt because he had looked away for one brief second to see what was wrong.

He was getting tired quickly, now. And he couldn't put up this fight much longer. Plus, he just wanted to get out of here, get back to Sokka and Toph, and get away from this village. What could he do to stop her? But then the princess struck a bolt of lightning at him, and he ducked just in time to watch it fly by above him. Then he stood back up, and looked at Azula.

"That's it! This ends now!" He yelled, and formed a couple spears of ice, tossing them at Azula. And while doing that, he sent a wave of air at her, making her fly back into one of the still standing trees. The icicles then followed, and pinned Azula safely to the tree.

Azula gave him a deadly, scornful glare, and Aang was in no mood to stay and look. He turned to Katara. "Let's get going."

Katara nodded, while holding her injured right hand; however Aang didn't seem to notice. Katara began to walk, and Aang followed.

ZZZZZ

"So, now you know." She paused. "AND YOU BETTER NOT TELL ANYONE! IF YOU DO, I SWEAR I'LL--!"

"Toph!" Sokka shouted over her yelling and finger pointing. "I promise! I won't! This is all between me and you. I won't tell ANYONE." Sokka insisted.

"Fine." Toph said, settling down, and sitting back down on the ground. "Because I swear! If you tell ANYONE you're DEAD Sokka! You hear me?"

"I ALREADY TOLD YOU I WON'T SAY A WORD!" He shouted back.

"GOOD! I was just making sure." Toph replied.

"So…" Sokka said slowly, trying to calm Toph, and himself, down by changing the subject, "when do you think they'll be back?"

"I'm sure they'll be back—They're almost here." Toph said, having felt their vibrations.

"Good. I can't wait to get out of this place." Suddenly his stomach growled. "Well, actually, I think we should get something to eat first. Then we can leave."

Toph let out a small chuckle. "Geeze Sokka, is there ever a time when you're _not _hungry?"

"Hey, I don't know about you, because you were passed out more than half of the time, but I _deserve _a nice, big feast after what I did! I haven't eaten an actual meal for a while now!"

"Ok, I guess you're right." Toph admitted with a shrug. "And I think I'm going to have to agree with you on that whole feast thing. I'm hungry too."

"Well when Katara and Aang get back we'll--"

"You'll what?" Asked Katara, who had just arrived, Aang standing behind her.

"We're hungry. Can we _please_ go get something to eat before we leave this village?" Sokka begged.

"Hey, Toph, are you feeling better? You look better."

"Yea, Aang. I'm perfectly fine." Toph replied.

Aang grinned, "Great! I was really worried about you. You were really sick."

"I know."

"Hey Katara," Sokka interrupted, "What's on your hand?" He asked curiously.

Katara pulled her hand back immediately, then held it out to herself and looked at it once more in concern. "Oh, it's—it's nothing. Just a scratch." She lied. The truth was that the cut she had stung like crazy.

"Let me see." Aang said. He started to peer over, but Katara pulled her hand away once more.

"Aang, I'm fine."

Aang backed away. "Ok, if you insist. I'm sorry. I just don't want to see anyone else hurt or sick." He said truthfully.

Katara looked back down at her hand, then back at Aang and nodded. "I know."

"So you're sure you're not hurt?" Toph asked.

"Yea." Katara nodded, though Toph could sense that Katara's voice sounded a bit nervous, and discomforted.

"You're lying." She suddenly said.

"What?" Katara asked sharply, pulling her injured hand closer to her than before.

"I thought you said you were fine?" Aang asked, turning to look at Katara.

"Yea, are you lying to us?" Sokka raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Well, sorta." She admitted slowly with a small shrug. "But it's nothing some healing can't fix! I just need to clean it up, and then I can heal it, and I'll be perfectly fine!" She said quickly.

"Let me see it." Aang insisted.

"Fine." Katara said grudgingly. She held out her hand reluctantly towards Aang, and Aang took a hold of it, and looked at it.

"Katara, how did this happen?!?" He demanded at once after glancing at her palm.

"The ice shield I used to protect myself from Azula's attack on me shattered, and a piece of sharp ice must have cut my hand. But like I said, I'll be fine. I just need to clean it up, and then I can heal it in no time." She insisted.

Aang looked at her nervously, but finally nodded. "Ok. Well then why don't we get back to the town, and we can clean up the room, spend one more night, and stock up on supplies. Then we can leave in the morning on Appa. Katara, you can take the time to clean and heal your wound, too."

"Well, first I need to stop the bleeding." She bent down to rip off a piece from the bottom of her skirt, but Aang immediately stopped her.

"Katara, don't."

"Well what am I suppose to do then?" She asked.

"I know." Sokka said suddenly. He started to unwrap the bandage that had been wrapped around his lower arm. "You can use this. Just, try not to get it too dirty, ok?"

Katara chuckled. "Ok, but if you're sure."

"Of course I'm sure. You're my little sister, I'm supposed to look after you, and help care for you. Here, let me help." He finished unwrapping, and took a few steps forward. Then he wrapped the bandage tightly, but not too tightly, around Katara's hand, covering the gash in her palm, and making sure it would stop the bleeding.

Katara looked up at Sokka. "Thanks, Sokka. I owe you one."

"Yeah, you do. But pay me back when you can." He replied.

Katara laughed once more, but nodded. "All right, fair enough."

"Hey, I'd love to stick around for the brother-sister bonding moment, but could we please get going?" Toph said impatiently.

"Sorry, Toph." Katara replied. "I forgot that you were immune to affectionate moments."

Sokka looked over at Toph, knowing this wasn't true after the conversation he'd had with her. But he couldn't say anything. He'd promised so to Toph.

"Ok, let's get going." Aang agreed.

With that, the group began to walk out of the forest, and towards the village.

ZZZZZ

**Awww! Did you LOVE that chapter? I sure did. It was fun writing, and it was nice and long. **

**I really hope you all like it! I can't wait to see how you Tokka fans react to the first section!**

**Although I did lie about the Appa to the rescue part last chapter, because I don't think that was added. Oh well. I'm sure you're all still content. And Appa will appear next chapter, guaranteed!**

**Let me know how you liked this chapter everyone!**

**Tres**

**P.S. I didn't make Toph get magically better in just one second after swallowing the medicine. She was already starting to sorta get bettter, thanks to some unknown help, which you might get to know about, or it'll be a secret!**** Mwuahhahahahaha!!**

**And also, the reason why Aang was fighting Azula so fiercly wasn't just because he saw Azula almost hurt Katara, but he was determined to beat her, or weaken her, and make sure no one else got hurt, and he also wanted to get things over with, and return to Sokka and Toph and see if Toph was all right. And, he was a little upset that Azula had almost hurt Katara, but he didn't see Katara's hand get cut.**

**I just needed to make sure you all understood that, and make sure it was clear. If you have any onther questions, pm me, or put it in your review, and I'll make sure to answer! I promise!**

**Thanks!**


	10. Back To Normal

**Toph's Mistake**

**Chapter 10:**

**Back To Normal**

**Darn! I almost had it all finished! But then I guess it was deleted. So now I've got to start all over again, except for one piece in the beginning. Oh well.**

**I'm not going to be responding to everyone's awesome reviews this time, but that's only because I would really like to finish and post this chapter quickly. And I lack the time to do so. I've been really busy lately, I apologize. **

**I'm going to be starting a new story soon for Avatar. I'll tell you more about it after I finish this chapter (ending authors note).**

**Thanks so much for reviewing everyone! You were all fantastic reviewers!**

**

* * *

**Within a half-hour, they had managed to reach the village. They were at the center of the village, where a small fountain stood. Aang and Katara sat on the side of it. Sokka and Toph had gone ahead to grab supplies and such. 

Katara carefully unwrapped the bandage on her hand, and then turned around to face the fountain. Then she stuck her hand in the water, and concentrated on healing it, and making the pain go away. This seemed to work, for the water, as well as Katara's hand began to emit a glow. A minute later, the glow disappeared, and Katara knew it was time to take her hand out. Then she looked at it carefully, trying to find any scars, but lucky, there were none.

"I know I've seen you do that before, but it's just so incredible." Said Aang.

"Yeah, it comes in handy at times like these." Katara noted.

Aang nodded in agreement. "It sure does."

"Maybe later I can try and clean this off and give it back to Sokka." She thought aloud.

"Good idea, Katara."

* * *

Sokka and Toph had finally gathered enough food for the group. Toph carried one basket on her head, and another in her arm. Sokka carried the jug of water, and another basket. They began to make their way back to the Inn.

* * *

"Sokka! Toph! You're back!" Katara said happily as the two came into the room. 

Toph immediately set down the baskets she had on the ground, and then sat down cross-legged on the ground next to them.

"And with plenty of food," Sokka added, setting the jug of water down and the other basket that he was carrying onto the ground.

"We were wondering when you would be back." Aang said.

"Sorry we took so long," Toph said, "Snoozles over here," She said, jabbing an accusing thumb towards Sokka, "Couldn't stop drooling over the meat. I had to drag him away."

"I wasn't _drooling _over it, Toph." Sokka insisted.

"Of course not, Snoozles. How stupid of me to think that." Toph replied sarcastically, "You were just standing there with your eyes wide and your tongue sticking out, while the person behind the stand selling them tried to bat you away with a big heavy stick."

Aang and Katara laughed, finding it possible to imagine the scene that Toph was describing.

Sokka gave Toph a cross look, then looked away. "Who wants to eat now?" He asked, changing the subject.

"I do!" Aang cried, raising his hand up high in the air excitedly.

"I'll take something too." Katara said.

"Go ahead and pick anything." Sokka told them.

The two nodded, and picked a couple fruit out of one of the baskets. Sokka and Toph took their pick as well.

"I'm so glad that things are back to normal." Aang said after swallowing a piece of fruit.

"Agreed." Katara said with a nod. "Hey Toph, have you learned your lesson?"

"What lesson? That being sick stinks?"

"No! The lesson about not eating strange wild berries that you don't know." Katara explained.

"Oh, that lesson." Toph replied, "Yeah, I learned my lesson there."

"Good." Katara said with a smile and a quick nod.

Shortly after their meals, the group decided to lie down and sleep. It had been a long day.

* * *

Toph woke up first, since she didn't need as much sleep as everyone else. She'd had plenty of sleep while she was sick. She placed a hand on the floor. No vibrations. At least not in the room. And that's when Toph realized that everyone else must still be sleeping. Suddenly, a mischievous grin crept across her face. If anyone had been awake, they would have known she was about to do, and that the grin she was giving was not a good one. Listening carefully to the even breathing that only accompanied someone fast asleep, she decided to have a little fun. Blind girls, after all, can have fun too. 

"WAKE UP! WAKE UP! FIREBENDERS ARE ATTACKING!!" She yelled throughout the room.

Aang immediately jumped up, screaming, and running around the room. "WHERE? WHERE?"

Toph began to laugh hysterically, and laughed even more when Katara woke up.

"QUICK! GET ME SOME WATER!" She shouted.

Toph laughed even harder, and then Sokka woke up.

"FIREBENDER'S?!? WHERE? LET ME AT 'EM!!" He shouted.

Aang suddenly stopped running around, yelling and panicking, and looked around. "Wait, there aren't any Firebenders!"

Toph laughed some more before settling down, "I can't believe it worked!" She said with a chuckle.

All 3 of the rudely awakened travelers turned to look at Toph. Katara spoke up first.

"That wasn't funny Toph! What if it had been a real group of Firebenders attacking?"

"Then I probably would have done the same thing." Toph told Katara. "Besides, it was pretty funny from my point of view!"

"Hey, why don't we just forget about the whole thing?" Aang suggested calmly. He wanted to stop this argument before it turned into a fight.

Katara looked at him, taking a deep breath, and nodded. "Ok, Aang."

"So weren't we going to get going as soon as we woke up?" Sokka asked.

"Yeah, we were. Thanks for reminding us, Sokka."

"I just want to get out of here."

"Fine with me." Toph said in agreement.

"Okay, why don't we start packing up then?" Katara said.

The others nodded, and they began to pack up everything.

* * *

After a short walk out of town and through the woods, the group found Appa and Momo waiting right outside of the cave for them. Aang smiled, happy to see them both again. 

"Hey Sokka," Toph called while Aang got reacquainted with his big furry pet. Katara stood nearby, but she was too busy watching Aang with an amused grin on her face to notice what else was going on.

Sokka walked over, looking slightly fearful. Toph never called him over to speak alone unless she intended on physically hurting him in some sort of way. "What is—"

Before he could make his way over completely, let alone finish his sentence, Toph and Earth bended a rock up out of the ground, and sent Sokka flying straight up into a tree.

Aang and Katara turned, hearing Sokka yelling as he flew. It took them a moment to realize what had happened, and where Sokka had gone off to. But then they noticed Toph in her Earthbending stance, and Sokka stuck in the tree, and both of them knew what had happened. Obviously, Sokka must have done something to tick Toph off. Aang and Katara both broke out into laughter.

"Next time, if it involves picking me up, DON'T SAVE ME!" She shouted towards him.

Sokka groaned. "Great. Now I'm stuck up here. Can somebody help me get down!" He called.

Aang turned, and ran towards the tree, "Sure thing, Sokka!" Aang bended a large wave of air, which managed to knock Sokka out of the tree. The only problem was the landing.

Sokka landed, his face hitting the ground. "Ow." He muttered, and then he slowly got up, while spitting out the grass, and dirt. Slightly sarcastically, he added, "Thanks, Aang."

"No problem, Sokka!" Aang replied cheerfully.

Sokka got up now, and dusted himself, and then stretched.

"Okay everyone. Enough fooling around." Katara told them after getting over the giggles after what had just happened. But now she was taking charge once more, and becoming serious again.

"Katara's right," Aang said. "Let's get going."

"Okay, no problem." Toph replied. She walked up to Appa, and lifted herself up to where she could get onto Appa easily, using her Earthbending. Toph got onto Appa, and the rock automatically lowered. Then she waited for the others to get onto Appa.

Aang, Sokka, and Katara got onto Appa then, and as soon as everyone was situated (Toph, who didn't like to fly, was holding onto the saddle), he said the infamous words, "Yip-yip!" and they were off.

* * *

A few minutes after they had gotten onto Appa and taken off in the air, Toph spoke up. 

"Remind me to _never_ eat those types of berries a_gain_."

**

* * *

You can go ahead and sob now. It's the end. But don't be too upset! I'm going to be starting another Avatar story soon! But I'm trying to think of a title, and get some time to actually **_**write **_**it! Haha. I've been busy, and there's a play in my school that I'm doing. But I will write another story, and very soon. So please look into that! **

**Also, two things:**

**1-I'm sorry this took so long to put up! It got deleted a few times because my computer is….stupid. So, sorry. And, I didn't really have a lot of time on my hands.**

**2-Sorry that I didn't reply to the reviews. No, it's not like I lost my appreciation for my reviewers, I swear! I was just eager to put up the chapter before you all brought out your knives and pitchforks and such. Also, I was sorta lazy, as well as lacking time.**

**Thanks,**

**Tres**


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